Machinists
by TheAssassin2
Summary: What if Judy's dream wasn't to be a cop? What if her real passion was to work with her paws? Judy wants to be a machinist. At last she is at the point where she can start to learn to become one. But how will her dream change when an infuriating yet handsome fox steps into it? Part to the What If...? Collaboration by Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps
1. A Day in the Rain

**A Day in the Rain**

 **Written by TheAsssassin_2**

 **Edited by Cimar/WildeHopps &**

 **OnceNeverTwiceAlways**

* * *

Rain. Rain was an interesting thing. It could turn almost any day boring. Some people loved the rain, like Nick. He'd always loved it when it was pouring outside, even when he was little. It always made him feel safe in a way. On the other paw, Judy didn't quite see the beauty of falling water. She had always seen it as an obstacle and sometimes a pain in the neck.

It had been raining for several days in the city of Zootopia and it was starting to wear the bunny's patience thin. It was their days off and they hadn't been able to do anything! They had trips to the park planned with their kits, a romantic picnic planned for the two of them...and all of it out the window.

Nick had an idea after noticing his wife's recent mood. "Hey, Carrots?" he said in a sing-song voice.

"What, Nick?" She didn't quite growl but came close.

Nick recoiled a fraction of an inch. _She's grumpier than I thought._

Which was strange; Judy had been uncharacteristically on edge all weekend. Nick couldn't even say for sure if she'd even smiled since sometime the day before. _I mean, I know I wasn't thrilled about having to cancel our picnic... But… not this much. This calls for drastic measures!_

"How about you and I go down to Fitwik's and have a little bit of fun?"

Judy looked over at her fox and sighed, though her ears perked up. "You know, Nick, that sounds like a good idea."

And so two jackets, a bunny sized umbrella (Nick didn't mind as he really liked being close to Judy, and this was the perfect excuse), and a brief argument about what they were going to do after Fitwik's, they arrived at the arcade.

"So what are we going to do this time, Slick?" Judy asked as she hung up her coat.

"I don't know, Fluff. You pick this time." With Judy's recent mood he didn't want to have her mad at him, again. So he (begrudgingly) let her make the decision for today.

Judy looked at him as though his ears had turned into horns and fire was dancing above his head. "You're being awfully nice today. What for?"

"Well, you haven't been in the greatest of moods today, and I just wanted to cheer you up."

"I'm sorry, Nick."

"It's no probl—"

"No, for this." Judy smirked before she laid back and flipped the visor down on her helmet.

"You're kidding me, right?" He sat back and lowered his own visor. "You're not even going to give me a hint about… what... we're…" He couldn't finish as he dozed off and the simulation began.

~ ~ ~ **Page Break**

The smell of hot oil. The whirring of machinery. The sound of metal being chipped, cut, and ground apart. This was Judy Hopps' dream.

She had always wanted to be a machinist. No one in her family had believed she could do it. They'd never even supported her. Everyone but her mother; she had always believed. When Judy had told the rest of her family three years ago what she wanted to do with her life, her father had openly shunned her for not wanting to be in the family business. It was almost enough to make her want to quit—but she didn't.

Judy flew through school, completing three grades in the time it took to do two. When Judy was in the tenth grade she discovered a way to put herself on the fast track to her goal. Instead of continuing in high school she could drop out and get her GED instead. All she needed to do was have her mom sign some paperwork, study; and then pass a few tests. Easy.

During her time studying to take the big test, Judy was advised by her instructor to go and talk to the local workforce service office. What she discovered couldn't have pleased her more. Turns out, she qualified for a pell grant that would pay for a substantial amount of her training.

So now, here she stood—two and a half years later—meeting her instructor in front of the shop that she'd be using for the next five years. Judy had finally made it.

Even though her program was through a college, the coyote exiting the shop owned his own business. He walked up to Judy, put his paws on his hips, and smiled.

"You must be Judy. My name is Jack. It's a pleasure to meet you." He held out his paw.

Judy took the offered paw and gave it a firm shake. "The pleasure is all mine."

Judy was excited—to say the least—she could not wait to get into the enormous building across the driveway from them. Across from the shop stood a large log cabin. It had been built in an old style that Judy hadn't seen before with elements of a modern house added on. The logs had been allowed to weather slightly and then stained to give them an older feel. The roof was red tin and there was a porch that ran the whole length of the front. In all it looked like it came right out of a movie.

The small complex was a good deal outside of any town and tucked into the trees almost ten miles from the main road that would take you to Zootopia—or Bunnyburrow, if you went the other direction.

"Okay, Judy, I like to get to know my students before I have to live around them for five years. Tell me, why do you want to be a machinist."

Judy was silent as she thought of a response "You know the show _How It's Made?_

Jack nodded his head with a smile. "It's one of my favorites."

"Back when I was fourteen. I saw some machining on TV, metal spinning to be exact. In the show the narrator said that not just anyone could be a machinist—it took a feel for it. I always thought that it would be fun to be able to learn to do that—that maybe I had that feel."

"Do you know how to do any basic machining?"

Her ears wilted. "I know the concepts, but I've never touched a lathe or milling machine before."

"That's alright. I'll get you up to speed. But first, we need to wait for my second student. I just talked to him on the phone and he should be here any minute."

"I don't mind waiting," she chirped.

The two stood around for a while until Jack got restless and went to sit on the porch swing. "Come sit in the shade Judy. He'll be here any minute."

They sat talking about this and that, getting to know one another. Where they grew up, stuff about school, that sort of thing. They had been sitting for about five minutes when an older Furd classic truck pulled up with a large camper being towed behind it.

The truck pulled up beside Judy's and the engine went quiet. The door opened and out stepped a red fox wearing a pair of aviators. Jack stood up and started walking out towards the fox.

"You're Jack right?"

He nodded.

"Oh man, am I glad to see you! I'm sorry about the delay. I turned down the wrong road and it took me a while to get backed out. Where are my manners? My name's Nick Wilde." The fox offered his paw to the coyote who gladly accepted it.

"It's a pleasure, Nick. Now, you are allowed to live here in that." He gestured to the camper. "You can park it over behind the shop. All the hook-ups you need are over there."

As they were talking, Judy had been checking out the camper. "What kind of camper is this?" she asked. "I've never seen anything like it before."

"It's a camper alright, just much stronger than anything you'll ever find on the market. I made it myself." He turned to the bunny and held out his paw. "I'm Nick Wilde."

Judy took his paw which was almost three times bigger than hers. "Judy Hopps. Your house is quite impressive."

"Thanks."

Jack clapped his paws together earning the fox and bunny's attention. "Okay, I'm going to give you guys the grand tour and let you get settled in. We'll start official class in the morning."

The first stop they made was to the house.

"Since you're so far away from any type of town, I let my students live with me if they so choose. I'll pay for your meals and your utilities. In return, you'll be hired on as part of my business. You're both welcome to come and go as you please when you're not on the clock. But you will still have to earn your keep."

As Jack was talking, they walked through the cabin door and into a mudroom. It was fairly small with concrete flooring and a welcome mat in front of the door to the main house. It also had lots of hangers for coats, a couple of trays for winter boots, and a few drawers for storing gloves and hats.

The inside of the house didn't look like the outside at all. It had all new furniture and appliances. Judy realized that it actually wasn't brand new, it was all old, but had been very well taken care of. _This guy is pretty clean._ She noted.

They walked through an entryway where halfway down and on the right Nick and Judy saw the kitchen. She walked further in and looked around. To her left she saw a long hallway, and, up ahead, Judy saw what she would guess was the living room. She waited for Nick and Jack to catch up before they continued the tour.

The living room was rectangular in shape and had windows along the wall opposite from where they came in. Nick meandered into the room as he looked around.

"This is a pretty nice setup you've got here." Looking to the left was a fireplace with an alcove to its right where firewood was stacked. In front of the windows was a brown recliner.

Jack followed him and sat in the recliner. "Thanks, I'm was hoping you'd like it here." To the right of Jack was a camel brown sofa which Nick decided to sit down on.

In the corner next to the sofa was a dark brown ottoman with a green leaf design on it with a matching paw rest in front of it and a torchiere style lamp behind it. Judy decided to sit down there.

"This is really nice. I really like your fireplace. I was never around one when I was little." Further to her right sat a love seat that matched the ottoman in design.

Across from the group was a large opening that led to the dining hall. Further to the right of that was the entertainment center which was quite large. On the left of the TV was a cabinet with a glass door full to the bursting with movies.

"Alright as you can see this is the living room." He motioned across the room in a sweeping fashion. "I have movies and a few old games, I don't want those to get in the way of work, but you can play around with them in your free time if you would like."

He gestured at some book shelves that were next to the entertainment center. "I've also got some books to read. There's a little bit of everything, I've got the 'Machinery's paw book' 'Welding Principles and Applications' and I've even got some sappy romance ones mixed in there too, if that is what you'd like." He barked a laugh with his comment.

While Nick and Judy were getting a look around, Jack started talking again. "You guys are welcome to hang out here whenever. If you do make a mess—and this means anywhere in the house _and_ the shop—clean it up. That'll make all our lives easier. Through there—" he pointed to the dining room—"is the dining room. It joins with the kitchen which you guys saw on the way in. They make a loop."

He pointed the way they came. "Down that hall are the bedrooms and bathroom. Judy you can pick either the first one on the right side or the one at the end of the hall. The bathroom and my room are both labeled. Please don't go in my room unless it's an emergency."

They both nodded.

"Alright, there is a downstairs. Let's head that way next." Jack stood up and led them into the dining room and immediately turned right and opened a door. The stairs down were very steep from Judy's point of view. It looked like the stairs went down two stories instead of one.

Once they were all at the bottom, Jack started showing them around. "To your right through that door is the laundry room and pantry. You both can use the laundry room. And if you get anything from the pantry write it down on the shopping list on the fridge in the kitchen so I can replace it when I make a supply run. Second thought, do that with anything that you notice is starting to run low."

In front of the group there were two beds, and a door that said bathroom across from them. Around the corner further into the room were some desks with computers on them. "Over there is my improvised classroom. That is where I'll teach you about metallurgy and the math that you need to know to work machine tools. I know that college has given you each a set of online classes to work on as well. That is also where you can work on those."

"Now I know you guys will like this. Come over here" He led them to a door next to the stairwell. Opening the door took Judy's breath away. Inside there was one milling machine and one lathe. On the far wall was a very nice workbench that had a peg board above it filled with tools.

Judy's ears sprung up and she clasped her paws together in front of her and looked up at Jack. He nodded. "Go ahead."

She jumped in the air in joy and took off in to the small room. The first thing she ran to was the lathe. It wasn't a huge one but it could get most jobs done. She turned around. "Can I, sir?" She could barely contain her excitement. He nodded again. She turned around and just gazed at the machine in front of her. If this coyote had these in the basement of his _house_ , she couldn't wait to see what he had in his shop.

* * *

The group had taken a break for lunch before they headed out to the shop. The shop was fantastic! It was huge; it even had a second floor office! Jack had so many tools it was making Judy light headed. He had two lathes, two milling machines, four different kinds of grinding machines. A drill press that was almost as tall as the roof was. He had an automatic metal cutting band saw, and another one for cutting wood. And even a separate room with a whole slew of different kinds of belt grinders. He even had a plasma cutting table _and_ paw held plasma cutting equipment. Each machine and area even had its own three by five workbench so different projects didn't get mixed up.

One whole corner of the shop was dedicated to welding. In it were one TIG welder, one MIG welder, and an engine powered stick welder. There was even an oxy-fuel cutting and welding set!

Another corner drew Nick's attention. It was the only one that didn't look to be in pristine condition and was dedicated to blacksmithing. There was one hydraulic press, two power hammers, one striking anvil and one normal anvil. In the center of all the power tools were two forges, one powered by gas and the other by coal.

Nick hadn't really said a word since he had arrived. It was all a lot to take in. "Sir why isn't your forge as clean as the rest of your shop?"

Jack sighed. "Blacksmithing is quite the dirty line of work. Every time I clean it, it's dirty again within the hour." He looked over at, Judy who was partially bouncing in excitement, and rolled his eyes. "Okay guys that's enough looking at my collection of junk. Go get your stuff unpacked and get settled in. Dinner is at six. I want to see you both there."

* * *

 **AN: Hey everyone Assassin here. First off I'd like to thank Cimar for letting me be a part of this, it's an honor. I'd also like to thank OnceNeverTwiceAlways for looking over this and find those dastardly grammar mistakes. Last what did you guys think? Any theories for what is going to happen next? Spam Cimar's comments. So I have something to read. XD Thanks again! Bye.**


	2. A Dream Come True or A Dream Realized?

**A Dream Come True or A Dream Realized?**

 **Written by TheAssassin_2**

 **Edited by Cimar/WildeHopps &**

 **OnceNeverTwiceAlways**

* * *

"So Carrots, why do you want to learn to work with metal?" Nick asked as they left the shop.

The name caught Judy's attention, but she just brushed it off as him trying to be friendly. "I've always loved to work with my paws, and I figured this would be the best way to do that."

"Oh, I guess that's kind of cool."

Judy didn't know what to think about his comment. "So Nick, why do you what to be a machinist?"

The fox was quiet and Judy thought he might not have heard her. "You know, now that I think about it—and heard you—it's pretty much the same reason. I love to make things. I've just had this desire to create stuff for as long as I can remember."

Judy smiled up at him. She was going to enjoy her time here.

* * *

Six months. It had been six months. Judy was enjoying herself, but not in the way she had always imagined. She'd always thought apprentices would spend more time in the shop at the machines, yet had found that was not the case at all. They did work in the shop, but they spent more time on the computer learning various other skills. It still baffled Judy why she needed to know so much about everything _other_ than machining when she was going to _be_ a machinist.

What infuriated her more so was how much Nick was excelling at _everything_! He was already done with his online classes and wouldn't have more until later. She still had over thirty left! Judy also felt like she wasn't always present during the lessons. Nick was ALWAYS the one to answer questions while she was left mulling in her own thoughts. Or, something that irked her more often than she cared to admit, he would correct her when she made some mistake.

Judy did like him, make no mistake at that—maybe a little _too_ much. He wasn't a bad guy, even if his lame puns and cocky smile drove her up the wall from time to time. Even as infuriating as he always was, every time he smiled, truly smiled, her stomach would flip and she couldn't help smiling back. Judy really didn't know what to think about the feelings she sometimes had for him. She certainly didn't think they were normal.

It was nearing the end of the year with only a few days left until December. That meant Judy only had a few days to finish her classes, and her stress was starting to show. First, Jack had asked about it, but she had just brushed it off saying she was almost done. Yet, it was becoming harder and harder to keep her chin and ears up as the deadline for her still incomplete assignments drew closer.

That had been three days ago. Last night during dinner, Jack had announced he was leaving for a few weeks to go to a family reunion for the holidays.

"Yeah, we usually all meet here at my home for these kinds of things. But this time my grandmother's house has been chosen because it's closer to everyone and the traveling cost will be less," he had told them over their meal together. Judy had to blink back her surprise as he continued. "I'll be gone until after Christmas. You both are welcome to go home for the holidays if you want. Just think of it like your Christmas vacation."

Judy honestly didn't want to go home for Christmas. The last time she'd spoken to her father, he'd said he was happy she was leaving. That she wouldn't be around to embarrass him any more for being the weird one in the burrow. Leaving home was already hard enough, but to have your own dad say things like that made it much easier to say goodbye. Judy hadn't spoken to him since then, even though she'd still kept in contact with her mom and a few of her litter mates.

So now, three days later, here sat Judy in front of a computer, trying her best to power through her final classes. She'd discovered some classes had duplicates. Sometimes one class could equal two or three tests done which significantly boosted her speed. There had been some confusion about getting her the classes in the first place, so she didn't have the whole year to do them. After all had been sorted out, she only had about four months.

Judy held her breath as she hit the 'check scores' button. She sighed in relief as she saw the she'd passed. "Just five to go now, Jude. You can do it," she told herself, the verbal pep talk barely affecting her mood as she clicked open the next online class.

"You know, you're always welcome to ask for help if you need it, Carrots."

Judy jumped as she hadn't heard Nick walk up behind her. He had also decided to stay to work on some projects.

What Nick wouldn't tell Judy was that his projects were secondary to his true desires, that he enjoyed being around her—maybe a little too much.

He was starting to get a little worried about her. She had started to focus on nothing but her studies in the last few weeks and had retreated into herself. Her smiles—which he adored—were replaced by frowns, happiness by pure concentration. When they'd first met, Judy had always had some sort of invention she wanted to build and the bunny would go on and on about it until she finished it.

She reminded him so much of himself when he was young— always wanting to make something better than it already was. But life for a fox was hard, and he had never gotten the chance to prove himself to the world. That was why he was in this apprenticeship. If he had papers saying he was legit, then maybe Nick could finally live his dream.

But, recently, he had seen Judy slowly stop working on her little projects more and more. She'd started acting different too. She didn't smile as much, and always looked tired. He'd asked her about it, but she'd just brushed it off, saying she hadn't slept well the night before. The worst part was how she kept mostly to herself, reading or typing away at a computer far into the lonely nights.

"Thanks Nick, but I got this."

Another excuse.

This worried Nick even more. He sighed in frustration."Alright, Carrots, if you need anything, I'll be out in the shop." He headed for the door as he caught her muted reply.

"Thank you, Nick."

 **A week later**

Judy put the phone down with a trembling paw as she tried to comprehend what she'd just been told. She took a deep, shaky breath. According to the person in charge of the apprenticeship, she didn't meet the academic requirements for the position. Judy had been told she was going to have to stop working for Jack and go to the college in Zootopia to do some general education courses. It would take her a whole year to get them done before she could resume her apprenticeship.

Judy was devastated. She had to quit what she had worked tirelessly, for over three years! She had scored in the top five percentile on her GED! Wasn't that good enough? How could they think she wasn't smart enough to continue?

Even though she tried to stop it, the tears slowly started to fall. She could hear the TV in the other room, so she cried quietly. The last thing Judy wanted was to let Nick know she was upset. She had worked so hard, for so long. Countless hours of study, hundreds of days of work. And she still wasn't good enough.

 **Two days later**

Nick stood outside of Judy's door. He hadn't seen her in two only reason he knew she was still there was because he could smell her. Her scent hadn't faded as it would if she was gone. Slowly, he reached up and knocked quietly three times. At first, Nick didn't hear anything, but, a second later, he heard the soft paw falls of the bunny. After a moment, he heard a pained sigh come through the door.

"Yes, Nick. What is it you need?" Her voice was completely devoid of emotion and it shocked Nick to the core. Judy had always been a happy bunny. He actually couldn't think of a time where she _hadn't_ been.

"Judy, are you alright? I haven't seen you in a couple of days and just wanted make sure you were okay."

Judy stood on the other side of the door with her head resting against it. She sighed again. Nick was the only other one who had ever wanted to help her. He was always asking if she needed assistance or if she understood. No one else in her life did that for her, other than her mom, and sometimes she wasn't enough. _What could it hurt? I'm not going to know him much longer anyway._

Nick watched as the door to the room slowly opened. Behind it stood a very broken hearted Judy. She was wearing an oversized tee shirt that hung down to her knees. The fur around her face uncombed and messy. Nick could even still see dried tear tracks running down her cheeks. And her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

Slowly, he knelt down to be more at her level. "Judy, are you okay?" he asked gently. Her only response was a shake of the head 'no' before she plowed into his chest, crying.

Nick was surprised to suddenly have an armful of crying bunny, but he didn't dare push her away. So he held her close, rubbing her back just like his mom use to do for him when he was little.

They stayed like that for a long time until Judy calmed down.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Nick asked.

Judy sniffed before she spoke in a sad voice. "They're pulling me from the apprenticeship because I don't meet the academic requirements for it. They want me to start general education classes at the college in Zootopia." She let out a shuddering breath. "Nick...I—I don't have the money to do that. I only had enough to do the apprenticeship. I can't become a machinist." She started crying again in defeat.

Nick was shocked. Judy was a very smart bunny. Why in the world would someone think she didn't meet the academic requirements?

She sniffed again. "I guess since I'm being so honest with you, I better tell you this too, since I'm going to have to leave soon anyways..." She paused, before meeting his gaze. "Nick, I kind of have a crush on you."

Again he was shocked. Judy had a crush on _him_? She was a bunny and he was a fox. Maybe she didn't mind that?

"Alright Carrots, I guess it's my turn to fess up. I might… have a crush on you too." Judy looked up at him in surprise. "Now I know how to cheer you up. You know Jack's blacksmith shop? I got it running again. I was actually a blacksmith before I came here. Do you want to learn a new trade with me?"

Judy wiped her eyes and nodded her head. "Sure, that sounds nice."

It was unspoken, but they agreed that they would see what would come of their feelings for each other. For now, they would enjoy working together as friends. Never mind the troubles on the horizon.

For now? It was almost Christmas...they could worry later.


	3. Winter Coats

**Winter Coats**

 **Written by TheAssassin_2**

 **Edited by LapisLucius42**

* * *

 **Chapter quote:**

 **I learned to give not because I have much. But because I know exactly how it feels to have nothing.**

 **-unknown**

* * *

Christmas was only a day away. Over the last two and a half weeks, Nick and Judy had gotten to know each other really well. Nick learned that her family was mostly unsupportive, but when Judy found out that he didn't have any family anymore, she hugged him for a good five minutes.

About a week ago, they went out and purchased a Christmas tree, decorating it with little homemade ornaments they made in the shop. Nick and Judy spent almost all of their time together. Not because there wasn't anyone else around, but because they enjoyed being around each other.

They also enjoyed making Christmas cookies together. Nick was an amazing baker and taught Judy some of his mom's simple recipes. The bunny was happy to learn since she'd never really spent much time messing around in the kitchen.

Currently, Nick was in the shop, trying to spin metal discs into bowls, plates, and cups. He wanted to make Judy a set of kitchenware for when she goes to college and had already completed the silverware at the forge. With Christmas tomorrow, he needed to figure out what he was doing, and fast.

He made a whole new toolset for one of Jack's lathes and had turned up some pieces of wood to act as 'molds' for the disc blanks. He used a special tool for moving the metal into shape. A bar with a spinning wheel on the end. Slowly, he started his work, knowing that it wouldn't be easy but still possible. He needed to adjust the speed of the lathe several times until he eventually got it.

* * *

 **The next morning**

Nick and Judy entered the living room and first laid their eyes on the Christmas tree and then at each other. They were both still in their night clothes. Judy in a carrot themed and Nick in plain blue.

"Good morning." They said at the same time, which made them smile.

There were only a few gifts under the tree, but they didn't need much to be happy. Judy looked at a big box that read:

To: Carrots

From: Santa Claws

She looked up at Nick who was giving her an expecting look. "Really Nick? Carrots? You're the only one who has ever called me that. So I know this is from you."

Nick shrugged. "What you don't think Santa makes mistakes too? He does have a rather big job to do you know."

Judy rolled her eyes "Yeah right."

And so they opened their gifts from each other. Judy was so touched by the kitchen set Nick made for her that she cried tears of joy. There were also other things they gave each other. Mostly what they made. Judy gave Nick a steam engine of the likes he had never seen before. There were jokes and laughs to spare. It was one of the best Christmases Judy ever had.

The ones around her house were crazy to say the least. With over two hundred brothers and sisters, it was guaranteed every year. It was loud, there were fights over silly things, and her dad always somehow manages to upset her.

Nick went to open the last paper wrapped object under the tree. When he picked it up, it had some weight, but it also felt soft. He shook the object around a little, trying to figure out what it was. Completely stumped, he gave up and tore the wrappings off.

What Nick saw sent him into silent shock. He stood up and held the brand new Carpheart winter coat before him. He looked down at Judy who was smiling up at him.

"I noticed you didn't have one so…" She trailed off.

Carpheart coats were top of the line in keeping warm and being durable. A single one could last a lifetime if properly taken care of. Because of this, they cost a small fortune with the cheaper ones starting at over three hundred dollars. Nick had looked into buying one before, but the price turned him away. He never shared Christmas with family because he didn't have any. Since no one was kind enough to give something so nice to a fox, Nick was deeply touched.

Then another thought occurred to him. This would pay over a month's living in Zootopia including food and gas money. Judy was already going to struggle to get by once she went to school. She would need to get a job to stay afloat. She had spent that much money without any second thought or regret on him; just so he could stay warm during the winter.

Nick looked at Judy again as his eyes grew wet. He kneeled down and opened his arms wide. "Come here Carrots." Judy rushed into his arms and they embraced. Nick hugged her for all he was worth and Judy hugged back twice as hard. "Thank you Judy." He whispered.

"Nick?" She asked into his chest. "Do you want to be together with me?" She had been ready to take their friendship to the next level for a while now.

"I'm willing to try if you are Carrots." Judy shook with happiness in Nick's arms.

"Come on Nick! Let's go make breakfast!"

Nick chuckled to himself, having almost forgotten the cinnamon rolls he and Judy made the other day.

On the way to the kitchen, Nick turned on the TV and switched to the Christmas music channel. In the kitchen, he and Judy danced around while they gathered a few things needed to make the icing for the rolls, laughing and singing along to the music. It was noon when they finally sat down to eat, so the meal became lunch instead of breakfast.

After their lunch, they cleaned up the mess in the living room and sat down together to watch some Christmas specials like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snow Bunny. Judy hadn't seen any of them since she was little and enjoyed being able to watch them again. Nick on the other paw had never seen the Christmas specials before and cherished being able to watch them with Judy.

The day soon turned to night, and the night turned late. Nick was getting ready to go out back to his camper while Judy watched from the hallway. She saw him put on the coat she had bought him and felt a warm feeling in her chest at the sight of him wearing her gift.

Right before Nick opened the door to leave, Judy grabbed his paw and turned him around. "Nick," she paused as a blush spread across her face "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?"

If Nick's fur wasn't red, she would have been able to see the blush on his face. "Don't you think it's a little soon for, that?"

Judy's blush intensified and she slapped on the chest weakly. "Not that Nick! I meant just sleep together."

Nick seemed to relax a little. "Sorry Carrots. Still, don't you think it's a little soon?"

"Nick, we've spent almost seven months practically living together. Just think of it as if us being together since whenever we realized our feelings for each other. Don't you think we've been waiting long enough?"

Nick thought about it for a second. "You know what, you're right. We have been waiting long enough!"

With a huge smile, Judy grabbed his paw and led him to her room. They were still in their pajamas from earlier that morning so all they needed to do was climb under the covers and cuddle up together. Judy rolled into a ball and Nick wrapped himself around her from behind protectively. His tail even maneuvered itself in front of her. She happily grabbed said tail and buried her face in it, relishing how soft it was.

Nick sighed in contentment. "You're so soft, just like cotton candy."

"Well if I'm like cotton candy. You're just like a fluffy cloud."

"Merry Christmas Carrots."

"Merry Christmas Nick, I love you."

Nick was stunned for a moment when hearing her words before he smiled happily. "I love you too." He lightly kissed her between the ears and felt her shiver as a result.

Outside snow fell in big fluffy flakes, covering the ground in a white blanket for the night. It was cold, but the fox and bunny didn't care. They had each other to keep warm.

* * *

 **I admit I wrote this a couple days after Christmas. Guess I still have the holiday spirit after all. Merry (super-duper late) Christmas everybody!**


	4. Another Day in the Rain

**Machinists Chapter 4: Another Day in the Rain**

 **Written by TheAssassin_2**

 **Edited by LapisLucius42**

 **Artwork by TheAssassin_2**

* * *

 **Chapter quote:**

 **Never give up on your dream because of the time it takes to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.**

 **-Earl Nightingale**

* * *

Nick and Judy's relationship progressed rather quickly. They spent New Year's sipping sparkling cider, neither of them being old enough to drink, and snuggling on the couch while watching the Avengers series. Judy was half-paying attention, with her thinking about the craziness in her life and how much time she spent working towards her dream only to feel like she'd been forced to abandon it. Nevertheless, she enjoyed the movies' direction and could not wait for the new one coming out later that year.

Though a difficult topic to talk about, they finally brought up Judy's college courses. Judy found out that they started on the tenth of next month. They also discussed how it will affect their relationship if they couldn't be together. Nick and Judy agreed that it would be best to keep in contact via phone and visit whenever possible. Neither liked that they wouldn't be able to spend much time together, wanting to be able to touch and hold each other. It especially was going to be hard for Judy.

* * *

 **The next day**

Jack was back! He really enjoyed his reunion after having not seen some of his cousins in almost ten years. When Nick told him about Judy's situation, Jack's mood immediately darkened. 'Oh,' Was all he had said. Later when he retired to his in shop office, Nick and Judy were alone again.

Nick decided to show Judy the tools he made to spin metal. While explaining how they all worked, he and Judy heard arguing coming from the office. The doe cringed when she heard Jack slam the phone down and mutter some choice words.

Neither couldn't stand the tension and was about to leave for the house when Jack threw the office door open and stopped them. "Wait! Judy, I need to talk to you."

Judy sighed sadly and turned away from Nick, but he held her paw, momentarily stopping her. She turned and looked at him.

Nick gave a small reassuring smile. "It's going to be alright Carrots."

Judy's voice shook as she spoke. "I know Nick." Slowly and painfully she pulled her small paw out of the comforting shelter of his larger one. Nick watched the brokenhearted bunny enter the office before he himself left the shop.

Back inside, Judy sat on the lone chair in front of Jack's desk. She noticed the desk was littered with little doodads Jack had made over the years as the coyote walked around it and slumped into his seat.

Jack looked at Judy across from him. Her ears were down and shoulders slumped. He sighed. "Judy I don't know what to tell you. I don't know why the college has decided to pull this on you. But there is nothing I can do to stop it. I looked at your record; you more than meet the qualifications for my class. So did Nick. You see, I have a choice to pick my students. I try to pick the best and the brightest. I picked you because of how smart you are. And now that I've gotten to know you better, I know that you were the right choice. When you first arrived here all nervous and shy, I had my doubts, but when you walked into the basement shop, you lit up like a lightbulb."

Jack smiled a little, calming the nervous doe slightly. "Judy, I know you want this more than anything. I was the exact same way when I was your age. That's why I teach. And I know you'll make an amazing machinist. But take it from an old coyote who's already had his day in the sun. You're gonna have to be patient to get what you want. I know it's hard to do, especially for someone of your age. But you have to, and I know if anyone can do it, you can."

Judy numbly nodded her head as she struggled to hold back tears. Even though Jack was technically her boss, he had treated her more like a friend than an employee. "I know. It's just, hard to give something up that I have finally gotten." She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I don't want to leave, especially now that Nick and I are a thing." She didn't even notice what she said; too lost in her emotions.

Jack wasn't surprised. _That would explain why he held her paw so long before she came in here._ "If it makes you feel any better, I won't be taking any more students for the next six years. As soon as you are done with college, you can come back and start right back up where you left off."

Judy looked up at him with a look of disbelief. All Jack did was nod to her unspoken question. For the first time since Jack had been home, he saw Judy smile. "Thank you Jack."

Over the next week, Nick and Jack helped Judy enroll at the college. Orientation was on the ninth and today was the eighth. Jack walked out of Judy's soon-to-be-old room with her last box of belongings. "Alright Judy, this is the last one. I'll take it to your truck. Then we can have our last meal together." Jack quietly walked down the hall and turned around the corner.

Quietly, Judy walked into the room. It was just like the day she arrived. Plain white walls bed in one corner with no sheets and dresser in front of the window. This was her little domain. A place she had decorated and made her own. She had loved filling the space with her projects and giving the room life. Now it was gone. All of it was gone.

Quietly Nick walked into the room and saw Judy with her ears down, even her tail was droopy. "This is so much harder than when I left home," she whispered.

Nick walked up to her and she turned around to look at him with tear-filled eyes. "That's because this is your home now. This is where you belong Judy." She nodded her head sadly.

Judy very shakily reached into her pocket and withdrew a small wrap of cloth. "Here I've been meaning to give this to you for a few days now."

Nick took the small wrap and unfolded it. What he saw stole his breath from his lungs. In his paws, sitting on the cloth, was a Damascus ring. Nick looked up at Judy in shock. She had tears streaming down her face. But she still managed to talk through her soft sobs. "I promise to come back to you. I won't stop working towards my dream, because my dream now has you in it, Nick. I love you." She laid her head on his chest and grabbed his shirt with both paws and sobbed harder. "I don't want to go Nick."

Nick embraced the bunny in front of him and rested his muzzle on her head between her ears. "I know Judy, I know. It's going to be alright. I'll wear this ring and I will remember your promise. I love you Judy, so much. Don't you ever forget that!"

And that was how their last day together went. It was filled with sweet sorrow. That was a week ago. Neither Jack nor Nick talked much since, the mood a dour one as they were still getting used to the quiet without Judy around. They both sat around the kitchen table sipping on juice boxes. Nick was staring at the ring that Judy made for him for the hundredth time.

He couldn't help but wonder how she did it. It was a beautiful Damascus ring. He had dabbled around in blacksmithing for years now and he still could not figure out how to make Damascus. Yet Judy made it with so little experience and he wondered how long it took her.

"You know you two made a cute couple." Nick looked up at Jack who had broken the silence. "She begged me to help her make that ring for you. I just told her how to do it and she did the rest. The pattern is unlike anything I've ever seen before."

It was true; the ring had loops that looked a lot like bunny ears going around it. "Listen Nick I know how you feel. I knew love once too. It was me and my wife that built this place. She was the blacksmith and I was the machinist. We always wanted to pass our knowledge on to other young minds, so we started teaching together." After a very long pause, he continued. "Do you remember what you asked me when you arrived here, about the blacksmith's area?" Nick nodded his head; he had asked why it was so dirty. "I lied to you that day. I haven't cleaned that space in over ten years. When my wife died I just didn't have it in me to clean up her last mess. It was as if I was cleaning up her memory to throw away. When I look at you and Judy I see myself and my wife. I'm sorry Judy's gone Nick. I truly am."

Judy wasn't enjoying her new life. She hated the city; there was too much noise and too many other animals. She had been attending Zootopia Central College now for over three weeks and was absolutely miserable. She didn't feel like getting up in the morning, didn't feel like going to class every day. The only thing that kept her going was her promise to Nick. If she didn't get good grades, she wouldn't get to go back home. So she powered through each class, Nick's image in her mind forcing her forward.

It had been raining in Zootopia since late last night, which was weird for the time of year. Rain, rain was an interesting thing. It could turn almost any day boring. Some people loved it, others not so much. Judy was one of the latter. Rain was depressing to her and she hated it. It blocked out the beauty of the sun and sky with darkness and cold.

The roads were so busy around the college that the bunny had to walk to most of her classes for fear of getting into a wreck with her only truck. So here she was, walking through the freezing rain to another class she didn't want to go to.

It was the first class of the day and she was already soaked to the bone. It was going to be a long and cold day. "Stupid carrot picking requirements! I could be back home right now in Nick's warm arms," she muttered to herself. This was one of her new pastimes: complain about her dumb classes.

"Excuse me, could you point me in the direction of the Nature and Science building?"

Judy turned around to be met with a familiar brown coat. When she looked up, she met the most beautiful sight she had seen all day. "Nick?"

"In the fur," he put a paw on his chest.

"H-h-how are you here?" She asked in bewilderment. She had to be dreaming. No, she was dead, frozen to death in the rain. This was it. Now she would never get to see Nick again.

"Look at what I got in the mail Carrots." He held out an envelope which Judy took and read.

It was a letter that stated he was not eligible for the apprenticeship program and that he needed to take classes at the college if he wanted to continue. Judy looked up at him with tears growing in her eyes. "Nick." But that was all she could say before he wrapped her in his arms in a hug and picked her up off the ground.

"I missed you so much Judy."

Judy wrapped her arms around his neck. "I know Nick, I missed you too. I don't think I could have done it. Not without you here."

Nick lowered Judy to the ground and knelt down in front of her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little pouch. He opened it and dumped the contents into his palm, holding out an object to Judy, who covered her mouth with her paws. "I didn't think it was fair that I got a ring and you didn't." He picked the ring up and took Judy's paw in his own. "Judy, I promise I won't leave your side. No matter what; you're stuck with me, through thick and thin, and hell and high water. I'll always be here." He slid the ring on her finger as he spoke. "I love you Judy."

Judy couldn't take it anymore. "I love you too Nick!" She lunged forward and kissed him. It was their first kiss. It was awkward because it the shape of their mouths and they were both soaked. But it warmed Judy from the inside out. And she could safely guess it did the same for Nick.

Slowly Nick drifted back into consciousness, images of tools and machines still flashing in his memory. "Carrots?"

Judy sat up and took her visor off as Nick did the same. "You know Nick? The rain really isn't that bad is it?"

Nick was baffled. "I guess so. What makes you say that?"

"I'm not sure. I just get a warm feeling when I think about it now." She had a dreamy look on her face.

"Huh. I guess you enjoyed yourself?"

"As long as it is with you Nick, I'll enjoy anything." She smiled as she stood up and stretched her arms and back.

Nick put an arm around his wife's shoulders. She relaxed into his touch. "Come on Carrots let's go home."

* * *

 **AN:**

 **Alright what did you all think? This is my second ever story and my first time working on a collaboration. I'd like to thank Cimar for giving me the amazing opportunity to participate. And I'd like to thank my editors this story wouldn't be what it is without them. Give them all a huge round of applause. Thank you all so much! If you liked this I humbly suggest that you check out my other story: To Stand Together or Not at All. You can find it on Deviantart and by TheAssassin2. Also I may continue this on my own. I'm not sure if I can actually do that… Can I do that Cimar? Before I go I want to clarify that the rings Nick and Judy exchanged were promise rings. I've never seen a story with them in it and thought it would be sweet. Let me know what you think. Thanks again guys! I'll let Cimar take it from here. Bye!**


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